Thursday, September 12, 2019

We are cooking on a chimney starter with a grill pan to nicely char our head of Cauliflower for this recipe!

A cousin to broccoli,
#cauliflower is one of those vegetables that can be eaten raw or cooked
and converted to so many different textures. Best yet, cauliflower is
one of those super cancer-fighting foods as it contains sulforaphane
known to kill cancer stem cells.

I’ll be taking my head of cauliflower and introducing it to hot coals, first, direct heat
using a #chimneystarter for the actual cooking and then directly on the
hot coals to give it the perfect “meat” char. No matter what color you
enjoy – white, yellow, purple – grab a head and get your chimney
starter ready, as I show you how to use a chimney starter as an actual
grill.

Why a Chimney Starter

There
are times when you really don’t need to fire up a full charcoal area of
coals on the charcoal grill. I have the perfect solution when you’re
doing just a small quantity of a food, like our head of cauliflower.
To start, I place a mesh screen on the charcoal grill
grate to help retain the small, hot coals for cooking. I have a
collection of micro charcoal pieces that work perfectly for this type of
cooking.

After lighting a Firestarter, I place the charcoal
filled chimney starter on top of the Firestarter and allow the coals to
burn down to hot embers. Hot embers are what I will be using to cook my
fresh cauliflower, first, directly on the chimney starter, then on the
mesh screen once I dump the hot embers from the chimney starter.

Prep and Cook

Cauliflower
is so simple to prepare for chimney starter coal cooking. Just remove
the thick stem and the green leaves, then cut in half. I’ll be placing a
griddle pan directly over the chimney starter for the start of the
cooking. I first drizzle a couple of tablespoons of a high heat
tolerant oil over the cauliflower (I’m using avocado oil). Allow that
to cook while you melt butter which will be poured over the
cauliflower. I melt the butter directly on the grill while the
cauliflower is cooking. Allow this to char the cauliflower on the
griddle for about 12 minutes. We just want enough tenderness to allow
the direct coal cooking to provide the flavor.

Embers Give Char Flavor

After
the cauliflower has produced some tenderness while direct cooking over
the chimney starter, it’s time to remove the griddle pan and dump the
hot coals onto the mesh. You’ll see I’ve placed a large wood chunk just
off the hot coals to produce some additional wood-fired flavor. Now in
goes the cauliflower steaks. I position them right on the hot coals.
Don’t turn or disturb these pieces for a least 8 minutes at which time,
flip the cauliflower to char the other side. This is what produces the
fabulous “meaty” char taste and why cauliflower is done on the grill is
often referred to as a cauliflower steak.

If you will use the
cauliflower in a recipe, then cooking about 12 minutes on the coals will
be enough. If enjoying as is, then cook slightly longer and enjoy.
This truly is the easiest method of cooking a single head of cauliflower
for a true char flavor. Which I will be taking to a cauliflower rice
recipe that’s coming up!

Have you ever cooked directly on a
chimney starter? Leave us a comment to share. Bringing innovation to
wood-fired cooking with recipes, techniques and the science behind the
fire, smoke, and flavor. That’s SmokinLicious®.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

These finished smokey baked apples are a wonderful fall treat! Easy to do on the gas grill with a two-zone cooking method with wood chunks.

Apple
season is here and I’ve found some beauties to make a simple but super
sweet and flavorful recipe. And of course, I’m taking it to the grill
to let the apple get a kiss of smoke while tenderizing. With so many
varieties of apples available, you can pick your favorite and use this
filling for the perfect stuffed apple.

In my home state of New
York, there are over 25 varieties of apples. Since these can be cold
stored, they are available year-round but there is nothing like the
fresh harvest. In fact, controlled atmosphere storage was pioneered in
New York State.

Whether served as the dessert or a sweet side dish
is up to you but either way, you’re going to love the ease of making
this dish and consuming all its seasonal goodness. Pick your favorite
variety of apple and get ready to stuff them with goodness everyone is
going to love! Smokey baked apples done on the grill, cleanup is a breeze!

Apple Preparation

I’ll
be using my gas grill for this recipe so I start by lighting only half
the burners on my grill which I’ve added a smoker box that contains 3 hardwood chunks.
This will provide for the great smoke flavor to the apples. While the
grill heats up to about 375°F, I prepare the Macintosh apples. First,
wash and pat dry the apples. You can use an apple corer to remove the
core but note you do not want to produce a clean hole through the entire
apple. We want to produce an opening for adding the stuffing but we
don’t want it to run out of the apples. I like to use a small, sharp
knife, cut into the apple stem end about ¾-inch from the stem making a
circle. Remove the core membrane and seeds leaving a firm base to the
apple for filling.

Tasting Notes: Although I’ve
selected Macintosh apples to know any variety will do. Just note, if
the apples are significantly larger, you will need to make an additional
filling.

Sweet Stuffing

With
our apples cored, it’s time to make the sweet filling before heading to
the grill. First, know I like to use a disposable foil pan to make
clean up a breeze. In that pan, I place a roasting rack so the apples
will be exposed to radiant heat all the way around the apple. I’m
making ten stuffed apple but I will give you the ingredients needed for
making eight apples.

Place 1 stick of softened butter in a bowl.
Add 1 cup of light brown sugar, ½ cup chopped pecans, and 1-1/2
teaspoons of ground cinnamon. I prefer to mix this with my hand to
ensure good distribution of the ingredients. Taking a small amount of
the mixed filling, I form a log shape and insert into the apple opening,
pressing down to make sure this is filled to the top of the apple.
Once all the apples are filled, I head to the grill with my pan.

Tasting Notes: The
stuffing for this apple recipe can be easily modified. Feel free to
swap the pecan for another nut like walnut, hazelnut or almond. For
spices, consider adding ginger, allspice, and clove either in addition
to or in place of the cinnamon.

No Fuss Grilling

Once
at the grill, I check to ensure my wood chunks are smoking well. I
place my pan of prepared apples on the unlit side of the grill and pour
enough water into the pan to coat the bottom by about 1-inch. This will
allow moisture into the cooking area to get the apples very tender in a
short amount of time. I usually check the apples after 45 minutes and
rotate the pan if needed. When the apples are tender and the filling
browned, these are ready and can be removed from the
grill-#grilledapples.

Tasting Notes: Note that
if you elect to use a charcoal grill the smoke infusion produced will be
stronger. You are encouraged to still use a two-zone set up on the
charcoal grill to keep the sugars from burning.

Serve ‘Em Up

Once the apples are tender and the filling browned, it’s time to remove the apples
and prepare to serve them. There are many options for an accompaniment
to the apples. Today, I’m using a vanilla bean ice cream that I’ve
sliced into wedges. Certainly, the apples can be served with whipped
topping, another flavor of ice cream, a vanilla custard or pudding, or
even a slice of hard or rind cheese. These are best if served warm.
Don’t forget, if any filling is left, add to a pureed squash for another
great recipe. That’s why I always make extra!